1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to interlocks related to the charging system on electric vehicles to disable vehicle driveaway during charging.
2. Background Art
Electric vehicles, which are coupled to a wall outlet to charge the battery, are sometimes provided with an interlock such that vehicle starting is prevented when the electric vehicle's cord set is plugged into the wall. As the vehicle may depend on being charged, there is a concern that the cord set and/or the vehicle would be damaged in the event of a driveaway while the cord set is attached.
The interlock may be a switch coupled to a protective door over the vehicle's receptacle. When the switch indicates that the door is open, driveaway is prevented. In another alternative, an electronic control unit (ECU) onboard the vehicle determines whether the cord set is attached and, if so, prevents driveaway.
It may be possible for a vandal, or other third party, to interfere with the vehicle's operational capability by opening the protective door or by plugging a device into the vehicle's receptacle to deceive the ECU's logic associated with the cord set. Such a situation is not only inconvenient for the vehicle operator, but could leave the vehicle operator stranded if the vehicle operator is unable to detect the issue preventing vehicle operation.